***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[LittleCheepers]

Aw, thanks! That would be awesome if I could.

 

[dunnmom]

Sorry, I had kids mauling me and I bumped reply but it's wasn't finished. Lol! I have a suggestion on how to get your spring chicks, if you don't mind picking them up on the far side of OKC from where you are when they are delivered. Bethany Country Store orders all pullets from Cackle Hatchery every year. All you have to do is call them, tell them you want on the spring order list. I've purchased 13 chicks from them and only one turned out to be a boy, so their margin for error is pretty small. I've been pretty happy with the health of their birds so far. They charged me $3.25 per chick for Buff Orpingtons and I didn't have to order more than 6 at a time. They order certain breeds, so make sure you ask what those are if you call. They also end up with leftover chicks after their list has been filled that you can buy if you just want a small mixed flock, but they charge the same for these chicks. You may have a closer mom and pop feed store to you that does a similar thing, so you might want to check before committing to drive a long way to get chicks if you don't have to. Best of luck rehoming your roos, I'd take one, but I can't have them either.

 

[LittleCheepers]

That is exactly the information I need, thank you so much! I would order and have them delivered through the mail if I had to, but picking them up is a much better option. And not that it matters at this point, but it did occur to me that if hatcheries sell sexed pullets, they are going to be left with a disproportionate number of males to be shipped to TSC and others suppliers to be sold as straight run chicks. Not that I would EVER do that again, lol!!

 

[LittleCheepers]

I suppose if I am going to advertise my (sniff) roosters, it would help to say what kind they are. Can anyone tell from these pictures? They appear identical to me except for their leg/beak color (three yellow, three white). These were taken about a month ago but hopefully you can tell what breed they are. If you need more pics just let me know.

 

[dunnmom]

They all look like Barred Rocks to me, too. Some BRs have pale legs and beak, but it's not standard for the breed. I have to ask, are you positive they are all roos? Have they all crowed?

 

[LittleCheepers]

No, but they all have the skinny what look to me to be saddle feathers and their tails are all full and sticking up with curved feathers. But I will definitely take more pictures tomorrow if I can in case there’s a chance I’m wrong! But bless you for giving me a glimmer of hope, even if it is just for a night!

 

[dunnmom]

I looked pretty closely at your pics. I'm no gender expert, but it's possible you have at least one pullet. I noticed feathers on the ground in your pics, too. Some chickens go through an extra juvenile mini-molt, something I've seen in my own chickens. It could account for the skinny, scraggly look if that's the case, is what I'm saying.

You might try putting up a new post in the forums asking for gender help with the pics you have, and once the replies start coming in, you might be asked for close-ups of hackle and saddle feathers to help BYC gender guessers/experts with the determination.

You will likely get lots of replies and some conflicting replies, because gender is a favorite topic on BYC, and even novices like myself like to participate even if we have no real clue. Make sure you state their age if/when you post.

 

[LittleCheepers]

That’s a great idea. So I’m not giving up my glimmer of hope yet! However, it will likely be the weekend before I can take more pictures. Our water is frozen at the wellhead so won’t be thawed out for another day or so and we are having to stay in a motel to be able to shower for work. My husband has to get up really early to drive back to Choctaw to let the chickens out and then come back to Midwest City to pick me up and get us both to work. He is an awesome husband but hates the cold and is totally stressed out over this whole water/heat situation (our central heat is barely working as well for some reason) and I know him well enough to know it wouldn’t go over well if I asked him to please take a couple of pictures of each bird and when he lets them out in the morning! They put themselves up about 5:00 so we don’t even get to see them in the evenings. I’ll take some good pics myself this weekend to post and will keep my fingers crossed! BTW, I had wondered about them losing feathers and didn’t realize they could go through a mini-molt. Thanks so much for all your advice!

 

[dunnmom]

I'm glad you have a warm place to sleep during this cold snap, and I hope you can get that heater working soon.

 

[dunnmom]

That’s a great idea. So I’m not giving up my glimmer of hope yet! However, it will likely be the weekend before I can take more pictures. Our water is frozen at the wellhead so won’t be thawed out for another day or so and we are having to stay in a motel to be able to shower for work. My husband has to get up really early to drive back to Choctaw to let the chickens out and then come back to Midwest City to pick me up and get us both to work. He is an awesome husband but hates the cold and is totally stressed out over this whole water/heat situation (our central heat is barely working as well for some reason) and I know him well enough to know it wouldn’t go over well if I asked him to please take a couple of pictures of each bird and when he lets them out in the morning! They put themselves up about 5:00 so we don’t even get to see them in the evenings. I’ll take some good pics myself this weekend to post and will keep my fingers crossed! BTW, I had wondered about them losing feathers and didn’t realize they could go through a mini-molt. Thanks so much for all your advice!

Oh! I was thinking about your white-legged ones. Is it possible they could be cuckoo marans? CMs look really similar to Barred Rocks, but they are a European breed which is why they have white legs instead of the American yellow legs. It's fairly common for female BRs to have pale yellow legs especially as they reach maturity, but as chicks if they were CM, would have had noticeably pinkish colored feet as opposed to any yellow color. The internet never lies! Ha! I've seen more than one post in the forums where they've been mixed up before, either ordered straight from a hatchery, or picked up at a feed store. That makes me think that the chicks look nearly the same for both breeds to an untrained or even just distracted eye.